Parent and Family Resources

• Check in with them! Don’t assume they will bring up problems if they are struggling in any area.
• Know that there will be tough times: 2/3 of students experience homesickness or loneliness in college. Scroll down to the mental/emotional section of links to find resources.
• Tell them how proud you are of them.
• Let them do it themselves: encourage them to do all the reaching out and checking in. It is great practice and learning for the future:
  • Start this in the application process: have your student take ownership of the process to get into Ohio State and all the next steps following it, to get them familiar with the independence that will come with being a student here.
• See this experience as a partnership: communicate your expectations and learn theirs.
• Know the resources and help connect your student to them: it provides an opportunity for them to advocate for their own needs, but they may not always remember where to start.
• Talk about a budget. Check out this financial literacy platform that is offered to Ohio State students free of charge: https://swc.osu.edu/services/financial-education/igrad/ and make a plan for financial wellness.
• Encourage your student to do the basics; attending class, taking notes/being engaged, visiting professor’s office hours, working with fellow students (that is often very different than the “individual” approach of high school): all seem simple but can make all the difference in the student’s final grade.

• The Learning Commons provide peer tutoring, math/science support, and writing assistance in any subject. Encourage your student to contact the staff or visit them in room 216 in Morrill Hall at ANY point in the semester to stay on top of their academic materials (https://osumarion.osu.edu/academic-support-services/learning-commons)
• Students might need help with more general study skills, time management, organization, and even advice on how to take notes, skills which spans across different courses they might be taking: The Learning Commons staff can assist with those skills, too. 
• Encourage your student to reach out to their professors! Ohio State Marion intentionally has small class sizes, providing the students with the opportunity to get to know their instructors and giving the instructors the same with their students. Our professors (many of whom have won university-wide teaching awards) want to help students succeed and can give some great tips and advice on how to do well in their specific course. Because of FERPA (see below) professors are limited in what they can share with people that aren’t the student, be sure to have your student reach out themselves.

• Formal policy on registrar’s site: https://registrar.osu.edu/policies/FERPA.asp
• FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and applies to The Ohio State University. In the K-12 system, parents have certain rights to their children’s educational records. When the student reaches age 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level, those rights transfer to the student. This ownership of the education records limits what university faculty and staff can release to people that aren’t the student. This can be a change for parents who are used to being included in any and all communications from the school.
• It is ok to contact the appropriate office if you feel there is an issue impacting your student’s ability to be academically successful or is causing stress. We will communicate with you, but within FERPA guidelines. That being said, faculty and staff will want to communicate directly with students- not parents when there is a grade or performance issue.

https://dps.osu.edu/alert-notices

Students, faculty and staff have the ability to register up to 2 additional cell phone numbers to receive text message notifications. These additional phone numbers can belong to parents, spouses, or anyone else they wish to include in the text message notifications.

Text messages will be sent to this group after a message has been sent to students, faculty and staff. Public Safety's goal is to notify the students, faculty and staff on campus as quickly as possible when an emergency occurs. Once this has been accomplished, we will send a text to parents, spouses and others.

Both future and current students can find all the details and deadlines here: https://osumarion.osu.edu/future-students/financial-aid.html

All degree-seeking Ohio State students enrolled for at least six credit hours in a given semester must have active health insurance. Students will automatically be charged for the Student Health Insurance plan unless they complete the health insurance waiver on their Buckeye Link by the published deadline each academic year. Complete details regarding the Student Health Insurance Plan, rates, and waiver deadlines are available at: https://shi.osu.edu/about-the-health-insurance-requirement/

• Minimum requirements: Students can change to the Columbus campus with a minimum of 30 earned hours (earned after high school graduation) and at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. This excludes credits earned from testing, e.g. advanced placement testing or Ohio State foreign language testing.
• Academic units on the Columbus campus may have additional requirements. Students who are not yet ready to decide on a major or are not yet eligible for a selective admission major would make a campus change into the Exploration Program.
• Students must complete the appropriate Campus Change form with the assistance of their Academic Advisor. The Academic Advising department will host a Campus Change Day for students to learn more about, and meet with staff from the Columbus campus.
• It is important for students to talk with their advisor about housing requirements if they plan to campus change for their sophomore year.
• http://campuschange.osu.edu/

There is not. Plenty of students do move away from home and closer to campus though. Check out some suggestions on where to look for housing: https://osumarion.osu.edu/students/housing.html

Ohio State Marion offers a variety of extracurricular activities that are coordinated by the following offices:

• Office of Student Life, Counseling & Wellness Services - Director - Leslie Beary (beary.4@osu.edu)
• The Alber Student Center -Activities Coordinator, Dawn Hockenmith (hockensmith.6@osu.edu)  

Academic Advising is a wonderful resource! Each student is paired with an academic advisor based on their academic interests. That person will guide the student through picking classes, changing their major, declaring minors, and the campus change process should they want to move on the Columbus campus. We encourage students to meet with their academic advisor at least once a semester. (https://osumarion.osu.edu/academics/academic-support-services/advising/)

Check out suggestions for off-campus housing along with tips on conversations to have as they transition to independent living: https://osumarion.osu.edu/student-life/housing.html

Ohio State Marion is proud to offer unlimited and free counseling for students through the Office of Counseling and Wellness. While mental health is not the only wellness that office focuses on improving, it is the most common area. Common topics that are addressed at the Counseling and Wellness Office include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, relationship stressors, time management, sleep problems, LGBTQ concerns, past traumas, suicidal thinking, perfectionism, and generally feeling overwhelmed.